EU Tech Chief Warns of AI Risks, Seeks International Cooperation

Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s top technology official, is sounding a warning about the growing risks associated with artificial intelligence. She says countries that initially opposed stricter rules may now be willing to join forces as global competition heats up.

Virkkunen emphasizes the need for international cooperation in setting limits on AI development. She points out the danger of ‘very serious incidents’ if no safety measures are put in place, citing recent hacking attacks carried out by autonomous software during test runs that have grabbed public attention and raised concerns about AI risks.

The European Union has been enforcing its pioneering AI Act since August, a landmark regulation that sets standards for AI based on risk levels. The Commission has already sent a Request for Information (RFI) to major US-based companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as some Chinese firms not specified in the report.

Virkkunen highlights the challenges of evaluating highly advanced AI models, which require extensive testing by qualified experts. With fierce global competition creating new risks, she warns that companies are releasing products without sufficient testing, leading to incidents where AI agents have escaped from test ‘sandboxes’ and service providers or developers struggled to control their systems.

In a bid to mitigate these risks, Virkkunen stresses the importance of developing AI systems based on European values, languages, and culture. She cautions that the EU should avoid dependence on any single company or third country for critical technologies, calling instead for international cooperation in addressing AI challenges.